SEBI Rejects NSE's Request to Extend Stock Market Hours

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has declined the National Stock Exchange's (NSE) request to extend trading hours in the derivatives segment, according to media reports. During an analyst call, NSE's Managing Director & CEO, Ashishkumar Chauhan, mentioned that SEBI had sent back the proposal due to insufficient consensus among brokers, the reports noted.

"Currently, there is no plan to increase the timings (for trading) as SEBI has returned back the application which we had provided because the stock brokers seemed to have not given the feedback that SEBI wanted," said Ashishkumar Chauhan, NSE's chief executive, during a recent post-earnings call.

In September last year, news agency PTI reported that the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was considering extending trading hours for the equity derivatives segment in stages. Sriram Krishnan, the Chief Business Development Officer at NSE, informed PTI that the exchange was contemplating adding a trading session from 6 pm to 9 pm, following a break after the regular session, which runs from 9:15 am to 3:30 pm.

The CEO of NSE mentioned that stock brokers appear not to have provided feedback to SEBI regarding the extension of trading hours, resulting in the shelving of the plan for now. Earlier, in February, a report indicated that the Association of National Exchange Members of India (ANMI) had given its initial approval for a proposal to extend trading hours for index futures.

Last year, the NSE announced its intention to extend the trading hours for index futures and options in a phased approach. This decision came after receiving suggestions from various stakeholders, indicating a planned, gradual expansion of trading times for equity derivatives.

In the proposed phased extension by the NSE, the first phase would introduce evening sessions from 6 pm to 9 pm IST, complementing the regular trading hours from 9:15 am to 3:30 pm. The second phase would expand index derivatives trading until 11:30 pm. In the final phase, the plan includes extending the cash market trading hours until 5 pm.

"In India, the equity and equity derivatives market close at 3.30 pm when most of the European equity markets would have just opened for trading while the US equity markets would be closed," PTI had mentioned. Extended trading hours in offshore markets offer the advantage of integrating relevant information while onshore markets are closed, allowing for more timely and effective decision-making in response to global financial developments.

The news agency also reported that smaller Indian investors lack access to global markets. Consequently, they are unable to respond to events or information that occur outside of standard trading hours, which can influence the prices of Indian assets, especially equity indices.

The NSE reported a 20% year-on-year rise in net profit for the quarter ending March 31, 2024, totaling ₹2,478 crore, demonstrating ongoing positive momentum in equity markets. The exchange's revenue for the same period increased by 34% to ₹4,625 crore. For the entire fiscal year 2023-24 (FY24), NSE's profits climbed by 13% year-on-year to ₹8,306 crore, with revenues seeing a 25% rise to ₹14,780 crore.